PLAY PODCASTS
The French Failure of The Panama Canal

The French Failure of The Panama Canal

History of Everything · Stakuyi

March 10, 20251h 12m

Audio is streamed directly from the publisher (podtrac.com) as published in their RSS feed. Play Podcasts does not host this file. Rights-holders can request removal through the copyright & takedown page.

Show Notes

The French effort to build a sea-level canal through Panama’s mountainous jungle failed due to dangerous, difficult work, insurmountable financial problems, ceaseless rains that triggered mudslides, and corruption and scandal. The French company in charge went bankrupt in 1889, with an estimated 20,000 workers dead. The French had spent $262,000,000 on the project, with little to show. The U.S. later purchased the French company’s equipment and promised to do it differently

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices